If You Haven't Pre-Ordered Grayskull what would it take secure your purchase?

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This!↑
It's not as if Matty has been so forthcoming and trustworthy to warrant blind faith. Right now the possible risks are higher than the possible reward.

I completely understand and respect this logic, but for me, I don't believe that they are going to give us some kind of junk pile that's full of lies just because they now have our money. Do they make stupid mistakes in their factories? Yes. But I don't think that the term "final specs subject to change" is said simply so they can go "a-ha! Gotcha! Read the fine print! You get what you get." I trust that the specs they presented are the ones they believe they can give us with the provided budget of $250 retail per castle at the minimum needed.

Again, these are just my feelings. I know that I've been angry at Matty quite a few times over they years for what I perceived to be "lies"-- and all those combined consumer experiences are definitely working against them in this instance, but I do honestly believe that they will work hard to deliver something worth our money. QC issues aside, I still think that the MOTU figure line is probably the best line of action figures being produced currently. The sculpting and design are just perfect! So, based on that-- and the fact the Scott and the 4H are also fans who reeeeaaalllly want this-- I'm choosing to still have faith.

I completely understand and respect this logic, but for me, I don't believe that they are going to give us some kind of junk pile that's full of lies just because they now have our money. Do they make stupid mistakes in their factories? Yes. But I don't think that the term "final specs subject to change" is said simply so they can go "a-ha! Gotcha! Read the fine print! You get what you get." I trust that the specs they presented are the ones they believe they can give us with the provided budget of $250 retail per castle at the minimum needed.

Again, these are just my feelings. I know that I've been angry at Matty quite a few times over they years for what I perceived to be "lies"-- and all those combined consumer experiences are definitely working against them in this instance, but I do honestly believe that they will work hard to deliver something worth our money. QC issues aside, I still think that the MOTU figure line is probably the best line of action figures being produced currently. The sculpting and design are just perfect! So, based on that-- and the fact the Scott and the 4H are also fans who reeeeaaalllly want this-- I'm choosing to still have faith.

If you're planning on ordering Castle Grayskull but haven't yet, how come?

I am the king of the procrastinators, so I'm just curious since ToyGuru said that the sooner they hit the minimum the better whey people are holding off if they know they're going to get one, particularly since there isn't ANY actual charge to your account until next year when it's ready to ship.

(I mainly wanted to get that last bit of info out there since I'm not sure if Mattel REALLY has gotten the word out that there is NO charge at this time.)

I am waiting for the last minute, Pretty much because I want to make sure I have every scrap of information first.. Look at some of the hassle people had to go through because of the shipping charges were not right when they started taking Pre-orders. Also I might want to order two and who knows what they might add( they already add a poster) or if I can talk anyone else in my family to buy one with me but if I order at two different times DR cant combine my shipment.

And rightfully so! I can't think of one thing I would hand over my credit card info and a promise to pay $250+ based on promises plastered with disclaimers of "Final specs subject to change". Seriously, I think the people NOT ordering are the smart ones. Matty preys off their fans' nostalgia and they know how to push all our buttons. 99% of all businesses--even small businesses with niche markets--have to foot the risk of creating and manufacturing product before they sell it. That is the risk vs reward that they get. Matty has placed all the risk on their fans and demands to reap all the rewards.

100% true... 250$ just because Mattel promised something? After all those flawed action figures in this year and the past years, I've completly lost my faith in the quality of this company. They still have issues with reversed limbs, they didn't improve their quality, it went down with blastic, the design decisions are questionable (Sorceress' wings). Every time I get a figure, I ask myself, what could be wrong with it, instead believing, that it's just fine, because the quality is high. But it isn't and those issues go on and on since 2008...

I looked closer at some of my 2009 figures, I found out, that my Mer-Man & 1. Release Skeletor had both 2 right shoulders. They stayed here 3 1/2 years and only, because of younger production issues I checked my older figures. My Fisto had 2 left shoulders...

After 4 years with those product experiences, I'll never buy something blindly at that price point from this company...

I will make my final decision tonight but here's what's holding me back. The Icon Grayskull statue is really nice and it's a complete castle. It's nice enough to display under glass or on my desk at work. The playset will look like a plastic toy and probably will be less visible on my garage shelf...so I'm torn. If I decide on the Mattel castle it'll likely be to help support it's creation. The Icon statue is getting made no matter what. But personally, there's more reasons for me to get the statue.

As I've said elsewhere; in light of the design team switcheroo with the Hoverboard, I would need an iron clad guarantee that not only are the Four Horsemen designing them from the beginning, but that at no point during the design and engineering process, will Mattel remove them from the project and replace them with a cheaper, and less skilled, in-house team. The other thing I would need is reassurances that the disclaimer on the preorder page, is just that and we will be getting everything they say we will. Sadly such things have not been forthcoming by Toyguru to my knowledge.

I completely understand and respect this logic, but for me, I don't believe that they are going to give us some kind of junk pile that's full of lies just because they now have our money. Do they make stupid mistakes in their factories? Yes. But I don't think that the term "final specs subject to change" is said simply so they can go "a-ha! Gotcha! Read the fine print! You get what you get." I trust that the specs they presented are the ones they believe they can give us with the provided budget of $250 retail per castle at the minimum needed.

Again, these are just my feelings. I know that I've been angry at Matty quite a few times over they years for what I perceived to be "lies"-- and all those combined consumer experiences are definitely working against them in this instance, but I do honestly believe that they will work hard to deliver something worth our money. QC issues aside, I still think that the MOTU figure line is probably the best line of action figures being produced currently. The sculpting and design are just perfect! So, based on that-- and the fact the Scott and the 4H are also fans who reeeeaaalllly want this-- I'm choosing to still have faith.

The MOTU fan in me is sincerely hoping that you are correct, and that I would be wrong.

I understand that QC mistakes in the factory is always a given possibility (in ANY towline) and that they wouldn't INTENTIONALLY give us a pile of junk. But I'm really concerned about how Mattel CONTINUOUSLY puts their faith in a design lead (Yes, I mean Ruben) that has been doing questionable "Design decisions" that has been a major contributing factor for the recent wane of interest in the line.

I have complete faith in what the 4H can do, and believe that Scott has good intentions for the product, but someone else really has to take over the reins of the MATTEL design team before I start giving them the benefit of the doubt.

again, I must reiterate that "Consistency is the mother of a reputation".

Most of my concerns is based on recent history, but I sincerely hope that CG would be the exception.
We fans AT THE VERY LEAST deserve to get a decent Castle Grayskull from Mattel; for all the support we've been doing for both the brand (MOTU) and in keeping this line (MOTUC) alive.

"If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, and sounds like a duck, then it is a GAR "

Maybe if it goes through, we can all go to Dan's house and play with a Castle Grayskull that actually allows He-Man to enter through the jaw bridge, and we can all give the Shadow Beast elevator rides. That should be some incentive to preorder....

After that 'checking on possible false orders' BS post from Scott, now I am sure that he has been holding back the thermometer.

The "verifying bulk orders" is the excuse he is using to justify why the thermometer was not updated a lot earlier to reflect that minimum sales were accomplished before the end of the pre-order period.

I find it hard to believe that all the 'bulk orders' just happen to occur in the last couple of hours and that TG is able to verify them just as quickly.

As we enter literally the last hour for this pre-order, I wanted to share these promotional videos I made to help convince anyone out there who's still not sure about committing to such a high-priced item. But don't take my word for it... take SKELETOR's!!!

Still not convinced? Well, here's TRI-KLOPS to do the job!!!

"I damned the world to save my daughter once... and I will do it for her again."
I do custom action figures, commissioned art, and I will make any Masters of the Universe costume, tailored to you!
View my website! http://www.havocstaff.50megs.com

As we enter literally the last hour for this pre-order, I wanted to share these promotional videos I made to help convince anyone out there who's still not sure about committing to such a high-priced item. But don't take my word for it... take SKELETOR's!!!

Still not convinced? Well, here's TRI-KLOPS to do the job!!!

Those videos are pretty awesome. Even if the Castle doesn't happen, the videos will still be cool.

After that 'checking on possible false orders' BS post from Scott, now I am sure that he has been holding back the thermometer.

The "verifying bulk orders" is the excuse he is using to justify why the thermometer was not updated a lot earlier to reflect that minimum sales were accomplished before the end of the pre-order period.

I find it hard to believe that all the 'bulk orders' just happen to occur in the last couple of hours and that TG is able to verify them just as quickly.

The problem is that Matty's strategy of misleading customers, side-stepping hard questions, and empty promises have worked for them for a long time. The "thermometer scams" have also proven an effective way to increase sales from fans who might have been content with 1 or 2 orders, but get scared and order more than they should/need.

What Matty fails to realize is that though tactics like this work in the short term, they fail in the long term. They are sacrificing their reputations and their brand.

100% true... 250$ just because Mattel promised something? After all those flawed action figures in this year and the past years, I've completly lost my faith in the quality of this company. They still have issues with reversed limbs, they didn't improve their quality, it went down with blastic, the design decisions are questionable (Sorceress' wings). Every time I get a figure, I ask myself, what could be wrong with it, instead believing, that it's just fine, because the quality is high. But it isn't and those issues go on and on since 2008...

These concerns are complete valid and warranted but I think people are allowing nostalgia to prevent them from from seeing it. People desperately want (and rightfully so) that part of childhood back yet they aren't looking at the big picture. Looking at the track record, one should be concerned.